Thabo Mbeki: ‘It’s not possible to say, vote ANC for a criminal’
Former President Thabo Mbeki says unless the ANC renews itself, he is not ready to campaign for the party during the 2024 general elections.
As the country gears up for the 2024 general elections with political parties struggling to catch up and win the hearts of South Africans, former president Thabo Mbeki says he isn’t sure whether he will campaign for the African National Congress (ANC) party in the 2024 general election.
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While speaking at a dialogue at Unisa on Thursday night, hosted by the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, the statesman noted that until the party renews itself, he is not ready to campaign for them.
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WHAT DID THABO MBEKI AND THE ANC RESOLVE DURING THE 2017 ANC’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE?
According to Thabo, the ANC National Conference in 2017 resolved that the party must renew itself, but if not, the party will die.
However, he notes that, following the call at the 2017 conference for the party to renew itself, nothing has since taken place in the renewal process.
Further, he noted that again in the 2022 conference, the same call was made, and the leaders have remained adamant about persecuting it.
Thabo noted that the ANC branch in his constituency is led by a criminal, so he can’t mislead people into voting for it.
“I say to ANC comrades, when you say I should go campaign next year to tell people to vote ANC, how am I going to do that? To say vote ANC, when I know very well that the branch of the ANC in this constituency is led by a criminal You can’t. It’s not possible to go and say, Vote ANC for a criminal.”
The former statesman stated that he wasn’t sure if he would campaign for the ANC in 2024.
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WHAT DID NELSON MANDELA SAY ABOUT THE ANC IN 1997?
According to Mbeki, at the 1997 ANC conference, Nelson Mandela warned that the ANC was attracting the wrong people.
“Something wrong is happening. As the ANC, we’re attracting into our ranks people who are not ANC. People who don’t have the values of the ANC but can see that to be a member of the ANC is to have a step ladder to government in order to have the possibility to steal, Mbeki reported.